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Monday, December 8, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Made to Worship
Made to worship. Do you buy it? If someone asked you what you were created for, how would you respond? I mean really, how many of us would honestly say, “I was made to worship God?” Maybe some, but the majority of us have a different idea of what we were made to do. Well the truth is you were made to worship. Everybody worships. Whether you realize it or not or whether you are a “spiritual” person or not, you worship. You worship what is most important you; what you value most. That could be sports, myspace, or another person. Worshipping is the most natural thing in the world for us as people, as natural as breathing. The question then becomes “what/who do I worship?” The bible says that God has “set eternity in the hearts of men” (Eccl. 3:11). So not only were we made to worship, we were made to worship something beyond us, something bigger, something eternal. We were made to worship God.
Let’s start out with figuring out what worship is all about. A very practical definition of worship is: Seeing God for who He is, seeing me for who I am, and responding accordingly. The definition of the Hebrew word for worship is to bow down, to depress, to prostrate oneself. These definitions, working in conjunction with each other, help us see that worship starts out with revelation and ends in response.
Think about a celebrity that you idolize. Whether it be a singer, a movie star, a comedian, a preacher, or a maybe even a figurehead in the government you start out by recognizing that this person is important. They are famous. They make me seem so small and insignificant. That knowledge, or recognition, brings about a response in human beings. That explains why people get so nervous and fidgety when they meet a celebrity. The response is one of being so impressed with a person that we can hardly hold ourselves together in their presence!
Now let’s catapult ourselves into the most important application of this scenario. In the first verse of “Made to Worship” we sing that before the day or light or the establishment of our galaxy God, the Most High, gloriously stepped into our reality and penned the most enthralling love story of all time. He wrote it not with ink and paper, but as a renowned artist with a masterpiece in mind, He painted an intricate picture through His creation of all things (people included) that would scream His intention to love and pursue relationship with mankind. The next verse recognizes and declares that all we are and all we have is the free gift of God, not something we deserve or earn. As we awaken to His gracious gift, we open our sleepy eyes to behold majesty and glory that are beyond all compare. Our souls become inflamed with a greater picture of the person of Jesus Christ. Our hearts are filled with wonder as we recognize how important He is.
That is seeing God for who He is.
The first half of the chorus challenges us to declare before God who we are. We are creatures - that is created beings. You and I did not make ourselves, we are the workmanship of God. We were created in Christ for the purpose of doing the good works He has already prepared for us (Eph 2:10). Next, we are called to sacrificial love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13.34). You and I, the created ones, are to be about others and not ourselves. The very thing that defines me as a person should be love. Finally, we are forgiven and free because of the finished work of the suffering Son, Jesus, on the cross!! Forgiven and free!! (See Colossians 2:13-15 and 1 Peter 2:16).
That is seeing me for who I am.
The second half of the chorus and the bridge deal with our response to seeing God for who He is and seeing me for who I am. Surrender and belief are essential responses to understanding who we are in light of who God is. In Luke 19 during the triumphal entry of Jesus the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God and declare His mighty works. Their response was to bless the King of Kings. Jesus then made the statement that if they, the disciples, did not declare His praise that surely the rocks would rise up to do so (vv. 37-40)! Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God and sky above proclaims his handiwork. One day, “at the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2.10-11). When we see God for who He is and ourselves for who we are, we should come undone. He is far greater than any celebrity. FAR greater. He is THE famous One. How could we even begin to hold ourselves together before El Shaddai, El ‘Olam; The Almighty, Everlasting God? How could we do anything before Him, respond in ANY other way except bow down…except bow our lives and all we are before Him in absolute humility and complete surrender?
That is responding accordingly. That is worship.
Matt Papa, SDG
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Let’s start out with figuring out what worship is all about. A very practical definition of worship is: Seeing God for who He is, seeing me for who I am, and responding accordingly. The definition of the Hebrew word for worship is to bow down, to depress, to prostrate oneself. These definitions, working in conjunction with each other, help us see that worship starts out with revelation and ends in response.
Think about a celebrity that you idolize. Whether it be a singer, a movie star, a comedian, a preacher, or a maybe even a figurehead in the government you start out by recognizing that this person is important. They are famous. They make me seem so small and insignificant. That knowledge, or recognition, brings about a response in human beings. That explains why people get so nervous and fidgety when they meet a celebrity. The response is one of being so impressed with a person that we can hardly hold ourselves together in their presence!
Now let’s catapult ourselves into the most important application of this scenario. In the first verse of “Made to Worship” we sing that before the day or light or the establishment of our galaxy God, the Most High, gloriously stepped into our reality and penned the most enthralling love story of all time. He wrote it not with ink and paper, but as a renowned artist with a masterpiece in mind, He painted an intricate picture through His creation of all things (people included) that would scream His intention to love and pursue relationship with mankind. The next verse recognizes and declares that all we are and all we have is the free gift of God, not something we deserve or earn. As we awaken to His gracious gift, we open our sleepy eyes to behold majesty and glory that are beyond all compare. Our souls become inflamed with a greater picture of the person of Jesus Christ. Our hearts are filled with wonder as we recognize how important He is.
That is seeing God for who He is.
The first half of the chorus challenges us to declare before God who we are. We are creatures - that is created beings. You and I did not make ourselves, we are the workmanship of God. We were created in Christ for the purpose of doing the good works He has already prepared for us (Eph 2:10). Next, we are called to sacrificial love. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13.34). You and I, the created ones, are to be about others and not ourselves. The very thing that defines me as a person should be love. Finally, we are forgiven and free because of the finished work of the suffering Son, Jesus, on the cross!! Forgiven and free!! (See Colossians 2:13-15 and 1 Peter 2:16).
That is seeing me for who I am.
The second half of the chorus and the bridge deal with our response to seeing God for who He is and seeing me for who I am. Surrender and belief are essential responses to understanding who we are in light of who God is. In Luke 19 during the triumphal entry of Jesus the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God and declare His mighty works. Their response was to bless the King of Kings. Jesus then made the statement that if they, the disciples, did not declare His praise that surely the rocks would rise up to do so (vv. 37-40)! Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God and sky above proclaims his handiwork. One day, “at the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2.10-11). When we see God for who He is and ourselves for who we are, we should come undone. He is far greater than any celebrity. FAR greater. He is THE famous One. How could we even begin to hold ourselves together before El Shaddai, El ‘Olam; The Almighty, Everlasting God? How could we do anything before Him, respond in ANY other way except bow down…except bow our lives and all we are before Him in absolute humility and complete surrender?
That is responding accordingly. That is worship.
Matt Papa, SDG
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